


Right in the Middle

by brianmay_be



Category: Bohemian Rhapsody (Movie 2018) Actor RPF
Genre: Angst, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Multi, Polyamory, also they're domestic af, because i'm a slut for domestic fluff, ben with a head cold, but luckily he has two very sweet boyfriends to take care of him, but only so the comfort part of the hurt/comfort could be that much better, i really gave benny boy a lot of angst in this, poor baby, this is diabetic coma levels of sweet and fluffy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-28
Updated: 2019-08-28
Packaged: 2020-09-28 08:17:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,087
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20422814
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/brianmay_be/pseuds/brianmay_be
Summary: In that moment of waking Gwil saw a vulnerability in Ben that the younger man couldn’t help, revealing a softness and relief mixed with a kind of fear that Gwil didn’t understand but immediately wanted to soothe. He pushed aside the worry that shocked through him, studying Ben’s face and trying to think of how best to help him.“Ben, sweetheart,” Gwil said softly. “What’s wrong?”The relief that Gwil had seen on Ben’s face when he first woke was quickly replaced by panic. Ben rushed to sit up, swaying slightly as he instinctively pressed a hand to his temple. Gwil reached out a hand to steady him, taking his arm in a gentle grip.“Slow down, love,” he chided. “Easy.”“‘M fine,” Ben said in a painfully hoarse voice.“You’re not fine,” Gwil said as Ben shrugged his hand away, wishing he knew why Ben was being so flighty. “You’re out on the couch at four in the morning. What’s wrong?”ORBen comes down with a head cold and worries he might be more trouble than he’s worth. Even though it’s four in the morning, Gwil and Joe are more than happy to prove their boyfriend wrong.





	Right in the Middle

Usually Ben loved to sleep in the middle. What could be better than being sandwiched between his two favorite people, the two people he loved most in the world? He hadn’t thought too deeply about sleeping arrangements when they’d started their relationship, the practical and domestic aspects of it put on the backburner as he had the most mind-blowing sex of his life. Of course, there had never been a sense that their relationship would be purely physical; they were too close, loved each other too much, to consider anything other than building a committed, exclusive relationship once they’d crossed the line from friends to lovers. But the furthest thing from Ben’s mind in the early days had been what life would be like if they moved in together. He’d been too consumed with the raging desire that seemed never to die down and only increased when he was with them to think about the little things, like who would make coffee in the mornings (Gwilym, committing their cream and sugar preferences to memory almost immediately) and who would most often forget to turn off the oven (Joe, a talented but nonetheless scatterbrained cook).

Sleeping arrangements had been one of those little things that Ben hadn’t thought about until they actually _slept_ together, intentionally going to bed as a threesome instead of just crashing after sex. Not that they didn’t still crash after sex - living together made it ten times easier to give into every little flame of desire, and they kept busy. But until now, Ben had always slept on his own. His only bedmates had been dates, not partners. He didn’t know what it was like to just sleep next to someone for the sake of sleeping next to them, especially not more than one person at a time.

Determining where they each wanted to sleep on the king-sized bed had been easy enough, though. Joe admitted to being slightly claustrophobic and Gwil was resolute in his desire to be on the right side of the bed, and Ben happily put himself in the middle between them. The first night in their apartment had been some of the best sleep of his life, tucked between Joe and Gwil, Joe’s legs tangled with his and Gwil’s arm over his waist. Gwil and Joe had woken him up with kisses, telling him how cute it was that he was so cuddly. He’d blushed and buried his face against Gwil’s chest to hide it, beaming under their attention and praise, loving the feel of his boyfriends on either side of him and content to be the one in the middle for the rest of his days.

Tonight, though, for the first time ever, he was wishing he wasn’t the one in the middle.

He muffled a few rough coughs in his sleeve, wincing at the scratchiness in his throat. He held his breath and waited to see whether he’d woken either Joe or Gwil; he relaxed when neither stirred, their breathing still deep and even. Still, he was bound to wake them up if this kept up much longer, and that was the last thing he wanted.

He didn’t know why he was so paranoid about it. They’d seen him sick plenty of times, including that less-than-sexy bout with the flu in the first few months of filming that had kept him from work for a good week. But that had been before they were dating; the most they’d had to do in response was send a “hope you feel better soon, mate!” text and check up on him every once in a while if the thought occurred to them. This was the first time any of them had gotten sick while they were actually together, much less living together. Ben sighed. Of course it had to be him.

They’d given him no reason to think they’d be frustrated or annoyed with him if he was sick, but he didn’t want to be the one to ruin this perfect romantic comedy they’d been living since they moved into the apartment less than two weeks ago. Everything was perfect - they never argued, they had amazing sex all the time, they woke up to each other sleepy and soft in the morning sunshine that streamed through the balcony windows and caught in Joe’s tousled ginger hair and brought out a shade close to violet in Gwilym’s eyes. Ben didn’t want to be the one to bring them crashing down to reality and risk how picture perfect their life was together.

His eyes widened at that thought, gripped by a sudden panic. He hadn’t thought his imagination was willing to go to gloom and doom that quickly, but now that he’d had the thought he couldn’t shake it. They’d have to deal with him being sick - utterly inconvenient and the exact opposite of sexy - and they’d realize that they’d just wanted sex all along. It really wasn’t worth it for the realities of domestic life. He wasn’t worth it.

_God, Ben, dramatic much?_ he thought, chiding himself. Gwilym and Joe had given him no reason to think that. They’d shown him nothing but love from the very beginning.

_But then again…_ that little voice said in the back of his mind, the voice that had made its appearance when he’d first felt the pressures of objectification on the set of Eastenders and had never truly gone away. _They’ve never had to deal with you when you’re ill._

He tried to ignore that voice but found it difficult to keep his mind from following that train of thought. Since they’d started dating, Gwil and Joe had only really seen the side of Ben that was easy to love and therefore easy to share - his body, his cocky bravado, his sexiness. He knew those were the reasons people liked him, and he knew they were definitely high on the list of why Gwil and Joe liked him too. Gwil and Joe often told him they loved him, but would they still mean it when Ben couldn’t live up to that version of himself?

As if on cue, he had to scramble to pull the collar of his shirt up over his nose to catch two sneezes that tumbled out one after another, trying to keep as quiet as he could. He caught his breath in a soft gasp as he laid back on the pillow, looking up at the ceiling but not really seeing anything, slightly dazed and aware of the beginnings of a headache.

He felt his pulse jump as Joe rolled over to face him, his hand going to Ben’s torso.

Joe nuzzled against Ben’s shoulder, not really having woken. Though Ben normally would have relaxed into Joe’s closeness, at the moment he felt that it only made his dilemma worse. What he really needed to do was get out of bed so he could go sleep on the couch and keep from waking them, but trying to disentangle himself from his boyfriends would defeat the purpose.

He couldn’t stay in bed, though. He decided to try and get up as carefully as he could; he gently moved Joe’s hand and took his time easing off the bed. Gwil’s hand went to Ben’s empty spot, seeking his warmth, a soft noise of surprise escaping him as he realized Ben wasn’t there.

“Benny?” he murmured, his voice heavy with sleep. Only Joe and Gwil were allowed to call him that, and even then it didn’t happen often unless they were tired or drunk or feeling very affectionate. It wasn’t like calling Joe “Joey”, which he adored and answered to faster than any other nickname.

“Shh,” Ben soothed. “Go back to sleep.”

Joe stirred too and Ben grimaced.

“What’s going on?” Joe mumbled.

“Nothing,” Ben said quickly, keeping his voice low. “Just going to the bathroom. Go back to sleep.”

Though that was a lie, it was a reasonable answer, and Gwilym and Joe were content to settle down and fall back asleep. Ben gave a sigh of relief; they wouldn’t know until morning that he hadn’t come back, and maybe by then he’d be feeling better, or at least able to look and sound better than he felt.

Ben padded out to the living room, rubbing a hand over his chest in an attempt to soothe the tightness that had taken up residence there, along with a wet crackling sound every time he breathed. God, he was freezing - without Gwil and Joe to keep him warm, he’d actually started shivering. A sweater of Gwil’s was draped over the back of couch, but he didn’t put it on for fear of stretching it out. Though Ben knew his muscles drove Gwil wild, he wasn’t sure Gwil would appreciate how they stretched a sweater fitted to his lean frame.

He laid down on the couch, curling in on himself, wishing more than anything that he could get back in bed with his boyfriends. With the next volley of coughs that racked him, though, he knew it had been the right choice to leave their bed. Gwil and Joe needed their sleep, and Ben had had plenty of practice being on his own when all he really wanted was to be held. He crossed his arms over his chest to try and warm up as he drifted in and out of a restless sleep.

* * *

Gwilym didn’t know what had woken him. He vaguely remembered Ben getting up from bed; he reached for the blonde to see if he was back and was met with empty space between him and Joe. He frowned, glancing over to the bathroom; the door was open and the lights were off.

He ran a hand over his face as he got out of bed, seeing 3:28 am glowing in red digits from the alarm clock on the bedside table. Joe and Ben both had told him it was a good idea to keep the alarm clock on his side, since he was the only one out of them who could be counted on to not consistently snooze the alarm. Gwilym usually woke earlier than either of his boyfriends, which was fine by him, and he was happy to take the responsibility of setting an alarm more suited to when they wanted to get up after he rose to begin his day.

Pausing to make sure Joe was sufficiently covered - the boy got so cold at night it was almost comical, eliciting protests when his cold hands met his warm boyfriends - Gwil left their bedroom and headed out to the living room, his brain still sluggish from sleep but working to determine why on earth Ben wasn’t in bed. Maybe he hadn’t been able to sleep and had come out to watch tv; whatever it was, Gwil wanted to try and do what he could to help and convince Ben to come back to bed.

The sight that met him in the living room nearly broke Gwilym’s heart. On the couch, Ben was curled in on himself as tightly as he could manage, his cheeks bright pink despite the way he shivered. He was asleep but Gwilym guessed only barely so, each breath heavy and rattling in his chest.

Gwil went over to the couch and knelt by Ben, stroking a hand over his blonde curls. He was burning up, the poor thing. Ben stirred at Gwil’s touch, his pretty green eyes fluttering open and taking a moment to focus. In that moment of waking Gwil saw a vulnerability in Ben that the younger man couldn’t help, revealing a softness and relief mixed with a kind of fear that Gwil didn’t understand but immediately wanted to soothe. He pushed aside the worry that shocked through him, studying Ben’s face and trying to think of how best to help him.

“Ben, sweetheart,” he said softly. “What’s wrong?”

The relief that Gwil had seen on Ben’s face when he first woke was quickly replaced by panic. Ben rushed to sit up, swaying slightly as he instinctively pressed a hand to his temple. Gwil reached out a hand to steady him, taking his arm in a gentle grip.

“Slow down, love,” he chided. “Easy.”

“‘M fine,” Ben said in a painfully hoarse voice.

“You’re not fine,” Gwil said as Ben shrugged his hand away, wishing he knew why Ben was being so flighty. “You’re out on the couch at four in the morning. What’s wrong?”

Ben’s broad shoulders shook with muffled coughs; Gwil winced at the sound, knowing it couldn’t feel good.

“Nothing’s wrong.”

“You don’t have to put up a strong front for me, Ben, you know that,” Gwil said. “I can tell you’re not feeling well, but I would have thought you’d be more comfortable in bed. Why’d you come out here?”

Ben’s cheeks flushed with more than fever. “Didn’t want to wake you,” he mumbled.

Gwil gave him a sympathetic smile. “You’re sweet, angel, but I’m afraid it didn’t really work. Joe’s going to be coming out soon enough to see what’s taken us from bed.”

Ben looked down at his hands. “Sorry,” he said softly. Gwil was surprised to see Ben’s eyes pool with tears.

“Ben, sweetheart,” he said worriedly, taking Ben’s hand in his own. “You don’t have to apologize. You’ve got nothing to be sorry for. Please don’t cry.”

Ben ran the heel of his palm over his cheek, unable to stop a few tears falling. “I didn’t mean to wake you,” he said. “I tried to keep quiet but - ” He cut himself off with a series of painful coughs, burying his face against the crook of his arm; Gwil moved to sit next to him, rubbing his back in an effort to soothe him.

“Obviously I can’t,” Ben said when he was able to draw a full breath. The embarrassment in his voice made Gwil want to cry. “So I came out here.”

“Oh, sweetheart,” Gwil said gently. “That’s ok. You didn’t have to come out here. We wouldn’t have minded being woken.”

“Yeah, but you don’t want to deal with me like this,” Ben said, the frustration in his voice directed at himself. He didn’t say it as an accusation but as more of a fact, and it broke Gwilym’s heart to know that Ben thought that. “I’m not… I can’t be what you want me to be. Of course it’s me, of course I’m the one who messes everything up ‘cause I can’t handle a bloody head cold without making a fuss.”

He grew more and more agitated as he spoke, his embarrassment and frustration only aggravated by how miserable he felt. Gwilym found himself at a bit of a loss for how to comfort his boyfriend, never having imagined that this was how he felt and feeling guilt shred through him that he hadn’t noticed before now. Had it really taken a high fever and desperate tears for Gwil to notice something he should have been attuned to and fixed way before now?

He put a hand to Ben’s warm and tear-streaked face, turning his head to make the blonde look at him. Ben’s eyes met his, seeking desperately for assurance even as he thought the very worst of himself.

“Listen to me,” Gwil said gently, desperate for Ben to know how much he meant what he said. “You haven’t messed anything up, Ben. You could never mess this up, no matter what you did. Joe and I love you more than anything in the world, and a head cold isn’t going to make us stop loving you. Nothing in the world could do that, do you hear me?”

Ben just nodded, his tears hot against Gwil’s hand. Gwil leaned close to kiss the tears from his boyfriend’s face, wanting him to know how deeply he was loved.

“It’s ok to be sick, sweetheart,” he said softly. “You’re only human. You’re exactly what Joe and I want you to be, which is just you, fever and all. I love you, and Joe loves you, more than anything. Of course we want to take care of you. In sickness and in health, hm?”

Ben managed a watery smile, leaning into Gwil’s touch. “We’re not married.”

“Not yet,” Gwil said, kissing Ben’s cheek. “But it’s still true. You don’t have to hide anything from us, sweetheart. Not ever. Let us take care of you, because we want to, I promise.”

Ben sniffled. “Not very sexy though, is it?”

Gwil gave a soft laugh, drawing Ben close and letting the younger man lean his head on Gwil’s shoulder.

“It doesn’t have to be,” Gwil said, running his hand up and down Ben’s arm. “That’d be like living in a movie. Real life is messy and broken and sometimes not all that sexy, and it’s ok. I want real life with you and Joe, in all its mess and all its beauty.”

Ben took Gwil’s hand in his own. “I want real life with you, too.”

Gwil kissed Ben’s forehead. “Glad to hear it, love. You need to be taken care of, and you don’t know how happy it makes me to be one of the ones to do it.”

Ben laughed, the sound devolving into a cough. “You’re joking.”

Gwil chuckled. “I’m not, I promise. This is exactly what I’ve always wanted. It’s better than what I’ve wanted. Being able to love you and Joe like this… it’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me. You two are the best thing that’s ever happened to me, and I would gladly spend my days taking care of you if you needed me to.”

Ben looked up and met Gwilym’s eyes. “I love you.”

Gwil smiled. “I love you too. Let’s get you feeling better, hm? How does some tea sound?”

“Lovely,” Ben admitted. “Thanks.”

Gwil rose from the couch and hesitated before heading to the kitchen, seeing the way Ben crossed his arms over his chest to compensate for losing Gwil’s warmth. Noticing one of his sweaters on the back of the couch, he took and and handed it to Ben, wondering why he hadn’t put it on earlier.

“Here, put this on before you freeze to death,” he said.

Ben took the sweater, looking up at him with a bit of confusion. “Are you sure? I don’t want to stretch it out.”

Gwil softened. “I don’t mind, love. You look better in it anyway. Or you will, once you get it on and warm up a bit.”

A gentle smile crossed Ben’s face as he pulled Gwil’s sweater on, breathing in his boyfriend’s scent.

“See?” Gwil said. The sleeves were a bit long on Ben, covering his hands. “Told you, it looks much cuter on you. I’ll go get you a blanket as soon as I’ve got the kettle on.”

“Somebody called for a blanket?”

Both Gwil and Ben looked towards the hallway at the sleepy voice, smiling as they saw Joe coming in with the comforter wrapped around his shoulders like a cape. He looked still half-asleep, but he gave each of his boyfriends a drowsy smile.

“Four a.m. seems like a weird time to be hanging out in the living room, gentlemen,” he teased. “Especially since I wasn’t invited.”

“Didn’t want to wake you,” Ben said.

“I was freezing,” Joe said. “You try going from two boyfriends in bed to no boyfriends in bed and see how long you last.”

Gwil chuckled and gave Joe a kiss on his way to the kitchen. “Sorry, love. Seems like you’ve got the solution, though, taking the whole bed with you.”

“Yeah, well, if you two won’t come to bed, I’m bringing the bed to you.”

Slipping the blanket from his shoulders, Joe came over to the couch and sat leaning against the arm, stretching out his feet towards Ben.

“Come here, Bear,” Joe said, calling him by the nickname he’d given him one night when they’d virtually the whole time just cuddling. Ben went happily into Joe’s arms, lying between his legs and resting his head on Joe’s chest. Joe covered both of them with the blanket, tucking it securely around Ben.

“Sorry you don’t feel good, baby,” Joe said, running his fingers through Ben’s hair.

“How’d you know?” Ben asked, his voice muffled against Joe’s chest.

“Besides the fact that you’re, like, a million degrees right now?” Joe said. “I’m attuned to these kinds of things. Plus, you only sneeze in doubles when you’re sick.”

Ben propped himself up on his forearms, frowning as he looked up at Joe. “What?”

Joe cracked a smile. “What do you mean, what? It’s true. When you’re sick, you always sneeze twice in a row.”

Ben considered that. “I mean… I guess? I’ve never really thought about it.”

“Trust me on this one,” Joe said, amused. “Anyway, I’m right, aren’t I? Why didn’t you say you were feeling bad?”

Ben laid his head back on Joe’s chest. “I dunno. Didn’t want to cause trouble.”

“Well, Gwil and I love trouble,” Joe said, scratching Ben’s back like he knew he liked. “Don’t we, Gwil?”

“Adore it, in fact,” Gwil agreed. “Joey, do you want some tea?”

“Of course he does,” Ben answered for him.

“Lots of sugar,” Joe added.

“I’ll give you _one_ spoonful,” Gwil said. “You’ll thank me when you’re trying to get back to sleep.”

Ben could feel Joe’s laugh, the sound warm and comforting.

“Whatever you say, mom,” Joe said. Though they were the same age, Gwil was objectively the more mature one. Gwil smiled and shook his head in affectionate exasperation, bringing two mugs over to them and setting them on the coffee table.

“Earl grey for Joe and lemon ginger for you,” he told Ben. “It’ll help your cough.”

“Aren’t you coming to sit with us?” Ben asked.

“In a moment, my love,” Gwil assured him. “Let me get you some medicine.”

Gwil went back to their bedroom to retrieve some medicine from the bathroom cabinet and Joe shifted on the couch.

“Here, baby,” he said. “Sit up so you can have your tea.”

Ben moved so Joe could sit up against the arm of the couch, leaning his back against Joe’s chest when they were settled. Joe handed Ben his tea before grabbing his own.

“I love you, Benny,” Joe said softly. Ben shivered as Joe pressed a tea-warmed kiss to his shoulder.

Joe gave a soft laugh. “Still cold?”

“No,” Ben said truthfully. He snuggled closer to his ginger boyfriend. “I’m perfect.”

“You will be once you’ve got some medicine into you,” Gwil said, coming back in with two pills in hand. “I reckon your fever’s high enough that you should take both.”

Ben did as Gwil said, taking the pills with a sip of his tea. “Thanks.”

“No problem, love,” Gwil said. He sat against the opposite arm of the couch, his long legs finding someplace among Ben’s and Joe’s underneath the blanket, his own cup of tea in hand.

“I guess we should tell Rami not to expect us for lunch tomorrow,” Gwil said, absently running his fingers over Joe’s calf.

“Oh, I completely forgot about that,” Ben said, feeling guilt flare again. Rami was coming into London for a few weeks to stay with Lucy, but he’d wanted to see them as much as he could and they felt the same. They were supposed to all go out for lunch together tomorrow while Lucy went for a cover shoot.

“You don’t have to cancel on account of me,” Ben said. “You two should still go.”

“No way,” Joe said. “Who’s going to make sure you’re alive if we’re gone?”

“We’re not leaving you when you’re ill, sweetheart,” Gwil said. “What kind of boyfriends would we be then?”

Ben smiled. “You’re wonderful boyfriends,” he said. “The only boyfriends I want, anyway.”

“Oh, glad to hear it,” Joe teased.

Ben’s laugh quickly dissolved into a coughing fit; he leaned forward, trying to ease the ache in his chest that accompanied every inhale. Gwil took Ben’s tea from him before he spilled it, Joe rubbing Ben’s back as both grimaced at the painful sound of Ben’s coughs and wishing there was more they could do.

“Deep breath, baby,” Joe soothed when Ben had recovered. “It’s ok. Take a deep breath.”

“Sorry,” Ben croaked.

“Nothing to be sorry for, sweetheart,” Gwil reminded him. “D’you want your tea back?”

Ben made to take it but hesitated with his hand outstretched, a glazed look crossing his face. Gwil patiently held onto the mug, not surprised when Ben ducked his head and caught two sneezes in the crook of his arm.

“Bless,” Gwil said.

Ben gave a slight groan at the pounding headache at his temples. “Thanks.” He took his tea back from Gwil, the hot lemon and ginger brew soothing the scratchiness in his throat.

“Told you you always sneeze twice in a row when you’re sick,” Joe said smartly.

Ben gave a weak laugh. “I think a simple ‘bless you’ would have sufficed.”

Joe chuckled and wrapped his arm around Ben’s waist, drawing the blonde to lean back against him again. “Bless you.”

Ben set his tea of the coffee table and followed Joe’s lead, his head resting right at Joe’s collarbone. He turned his head and bumped the bridge of his nose against Joe’s jawline, breathing in his scent; he could feel Joe’s heartbeat against his back, strong and steady.

Gwil ran his hand over Ben’s thigh, his touch intended to soothe rather than stimulate. He smiled to himself as he saw Ben visibly relax, leaning into Joe; he noticed Ben was wearing a pair of his wool socks as he rested his foot against Gwil’s thigh. Ben would be sound asleep in a minute, the medicine and his boyfriends’ warmth having the desired effect. His soft lips parted slightly as his eyes closed, a rosy pink over his nose and cheeks, his breaths congested but steady.

Joe met Gwil’s eyes and gave him a tired smile that Gwil couldn’t help but return. It wasn’t how they’d thought their night would go, but tangled up on the couch with their boyfriend between them, they wouldn’t have changed a thing.

“I love you, you know,” Gwil said softly. He knew the next few days would have their attention turned towards Ben, which he didn’t mind in the least, but he wanted to make sure Joe didn’t feel pushed by the wayside.

Joe smiled. “I know,” he said gently. “I love you too. And it’s ok. We’ll figure it out, right?”

Gwil felt a weight off his shoulders knowing Joe understood what he meant, knowing he understood the uncertainty that cropped up in a relationship like this. They each knew that balancing two people in a relationship was hard enough, but three? There were sure to be plenty of difficulties, plenty of moments of confusion and hurt and misunderstanding as they tried to work out how to be together and love each other well.

But then again, there were sure to be plenty of times like this, and Gwil couldn’t think of anyone else he’d rather figure this out with than Joe and Ben. The loves of his life, his best friends in the entire world.

“What’s say we take our boy to bed?” Gwil said.

“Good deal,” Joe agreed. He let Gwil wake Ben gently, running his hand up and down his arm.

“Was’ going on?” Ben mumbled.

“Time for bed, love,” Gwil said tenderly. “Come on.”

Ben nodded. “You’re coming too?”

“Right behind you, sweetheart,” Gwil assured him. “Go on and lay down.”

Ben reluctantly left his spot against Joe and headed towards the bedroom, rubbing his face with his too-long sleeves. Gwil smiled as he saw the way Joe looked at Ben, the affection in his expression matched by how Gwil felt about both of them.

“God, he’s cute in your sweater,” Joe said.

“Cuter than me?” Gwil teased.

Joe gave a soft laugh. “That’s not fair and you know it.”

Gwil kissed Joe’s cheek. “I know, and I’m horrible for it. But he is cuter than me in it, so I don’t mind if you say so.”

Joe turned his head towards Gwil and kissed him, drawing a contented sigh from Gwil.

“Ready for bed, love?” Gwil asked.

He could feel Joe’s smile. “I love it when you call me that. It’s very British of you.”

“You mean you don’t like it when I call you darlin’?” he joked in an exaggerated Southern accent.

Joe laughed. “Alright, cowboy, yeehaw to you too. Lucky for you, I like good old southern boys.”

“Too bad you’re dating two Brits,” Gwil teased.

“Mmh,” Joe agreed with a grin. “A shame, really.”

They kissed again, feeling a flicker of passion despite how tired they both were, and perhaps would have followed up on it had it not been for Ben’s feeble call of “Gwil? Joey?” that immediately had them heading to the bedroom to be with their poor sick boyfriend.

“Right here, baby,” Joe said, laying on Ben’s left side.

“Sorry we took so long,” Gwil added, taking the other spot opposite Joe, tucking Ben securely between them. “Everything ok?”

“Perfect,” Ben said, his voice hoarse. “Don’t be sorry, though, I’m just sad I missed the makeout session.”

Gwil and Joe laughed.

“Makeout session, huh?” Joe teased, brushing his knuckles over Ben’s flushed cheek. “You always let your imagination run that wild?”

“Only when I’m with you,” Ben said with a yawn, tucking against Gwil, happy to be the little spoon. “I expect to live vicariously through you two while I’m sick, you know. Hot makeout sessions and everything.”

Gwil chuckled and kissed Ben’s cheek. “Whatever you want, love. But for right now, why don’t we all try and get some rest, hm?”

“And when you’re better, we’ll kiss you senseless,” Joe promised.

Though he would gladly have stayed up and listened to his boyfriends’ bantering all night long, Ben felt the effects of the medicine take hold again as he lay safely between the two people he loved most. He felt Gwil’s arm go over his waist and Joe taking his hand and holding it close to his chest, their breathing evening out as they fell asleep. The last thought Ben had as he drifted off to sleep was that he was back where he belonged, right in the middle, and that he was silly to have ever thought he should have left.

**Author's Note:**

> Come see me on my tumblr, @brianmay-be, and have a look through my #bxjxg tag while you're there!


End file.
